Any social media manager will tell you that dealing with and adapting to the unexpected is part of the job.
While there are still a few months until the end of the year, it's never too early to start planning your marketing strategy for 2023. And, while no one can predict what will happen in the coming year, we can use what we've learned over the last nine months to improve our marketing strategy for 2023.
You can identify what types of content will resonate with their audience and areas for improvement in social customer service by reviewing your social data from the previous year. You can also determine what you require in order for your strategies to have a greater business impact. As your team begins to plan for the future, here are five key statistics from us that you should keep in mind when marketing in 2023.
1. Images and video are essential for engaging social media followers.
Not only must the substance of your content be relevant to your audience, but so must the manner in which you deliver social content. According to the Index, 68% of consumers prefer to interact with images, while 50% prefer to interact with video content. Consider flagging text posts that received high engagement and brainstorming ways to turn those topics into visual or video content as you review all of the content you've created over the last year.
Are you announcing the release of a new video game title? Use a video to share gameplay clips and include release information at the end. Are you conducting an interview? Make it into a video instead.
2. Consumers look to the suggestions in their feed to find new accounts to like and follow.
It is difficult to grow your online audience. Not only are you competing with your direct competitors, but you're also competing for your audience's attention and brainstorming ways to get your content noticed.
Knowing how consumers search for accounts to follow online is the first step in getting more eyes on your social profiles. According to the Index, 45% of consumers rely on feed suggestions or discovery tools to discover new accounts to follow. Consider targeting consumers with an interest in industries unrelated to yours as you plan your marketing for 2023. Fans of traditional sports such as basketball and football, for example, are increasingly turning to e-sports for entertainment as a result of the pandemic.
3. People follow brands on social media to learn about new products and services.
While some people follow brands for entertainment or inspiration, 57% expect to learn about new products and services from a brand's social feed. According to the Index, this is the number one reason consumers choose to follow brands, implying that no release is too big or too small to share on social media.
After a few hiccups, including an unintentional leak, Xbox took to Twitter to share the release date for the highly anticipated Xbox Series S with its 14 million followers. In just over 24 hours, the announcement received over 184,000 Likes, adding to the growing excitement among gamers worldwide.
When planning your social content, consider what types of updates are most valuable to your audience in addition to product launches. Your audience in e-sports is likely looking for social posts with information on server issues and fixes. Because of the pandemic, restaurants have taken to social media to share important updates on operating hours and changes to in-dining services. When considering the types of content you want to share in 2021, keep in mind that your audience requires timely updates.
4. Poor customer service will drive your social followers away.
If social customer service isn't already a top priority for you, it should be as of 2023. With 49% of consumers saying they will unfollow brands due to poor customer service, marketers can't afford to ignore any online questions from followers.
As you consider how to improve your marketing in 2023, consider how customer inquiries are handled and where your team can best assist. Look for opportunities to directly answer simple questions and use tools like social listening to ensure no message is missed. Even pointing someone in the right direction can help.
5. Time and bandwidth are still scarce.
All of this strategy talk is for naught if marketers don't have the time to put their plans into action. With 41% of marketers reporting a lack of bandwidth to make the greatest business impact with their strategies, now is as good a time as any to request tools to increase your bandwidth on a daily basis.
Companies such as Revamp Digital can assist you in automating daily tasks such as content scheduling and simplifying workflows to ensure messages are quickly approved by the appropriate people. This gives you more time to focus on more important tasks, such as surfacing key insights that can help teams outside of marketing.
To get ahead, look to the past.
Rather than assuming what your followers like or dislike, you can use data on consumer behaviors and preferences to help guide their planning. With a better understanding of your target audience, you can tailor your strategies to strengthen your brand's relationship with customers and get off to a good start in 2023.